Re: winter fairSeeing photos from winter fairI think fitters are doing holsteins a disservice by making cows look like skeltons with overstocked udders;this is aturn off for many commerical dairy men who are our ultimate customers and will lead to more crossbreeding

Seeing photos from winter fairI think fitters are doing holsteins a disservice by making cows look like skeltons with overstocked udders;this is aturn off for many commerical dairy men who are our ultimate customers and will lead to more crossbreeding

I wholeheartedly agree. We've done a bit of showing in the last 12 months, clipping them in the way we did in the 1990's, and I think ours had more hair left on than all the other cattle in the ring put together!

As a vet I think it gives completely the wrong impression to the public of how we look after our cows. I particularly dislike shaving the ribs to make them look skeletal. A cow needs to carry condition to be productive and fertile - condition retention in early lactation is what we all aim for to have good fertility ... and therefore what we should be exhibiting to the public.

Above all the Holstein showring is not a good representation of our industry or the way we look after our cows.

Re: Re:I hear more negatives about all the dirty conditions and dirty cows in a small portion of the bigger dairy. Seeing way to many photos and videos of cows walking in 6 inches of manure and dead cows in pens with other animals just walking around them. We know that this is a very small part of the farms in the world but the average Joe doesn't. Im also for some restrictions in the show industry but not sure it's the biggest black eye of the dairy industry. Fairs and shows with dairy at them is one of the better ways of getting the public closer to the industry. It would be interesting to see smaller shows to start a automatic milk time for all animals 12 hours before the show. If they don't get milked they don't show. Just a few thoughts.

Re: Re:Saw a show in France 20 years ago with an automatic milk time, had a really high number of local exhibitors. Suggested it to a number of show exhibitors round here and it went down like a lead balloon.

Re:Seems like the practices that have become the "norm" within the jersey cattle show arena in North America is starting to rub off on the Holstein arena. Special diets to keep them stick thin, even as cows, and scalping the hair off of them; especially if they are solid black cows and then over greasing them. I can see slicking them down and clipping up ribs if you have a heavier set animal to make them appear less-so.

I never did like Hailey much in the arena because she always seemed to be highly over-bagged.